SHANIWAR WADA

The Shaniwar Wada was once the palace of the Peshwa rulers of the Maratha Empire. Located in the heart of the old city of Pune, only a few ruins are visible as the palace was destroyed by fire in 1828. The foundation stone of the palace was laid by Bajirao I in 1730 and two years later the construction of the seven-storied mansion was completed. It was the seat of the Peshwas until their abdication to the British in 1818. The fortifications with 5 gates and 9 bastions were added later.

Dilli darwaza: the gate of Delhi is the most impressive. It is through this gate that the emperor or his distinguished guests passed, and it is always through this gate that one enters the palace. The gate is surrounded by two enormous bastions and surmounted by a hall with 5 windows supported by fine columns. This allowed the king to show himself on exceptional occasions without having to leave his palace. The heavy and wide wooden double door is equipped with 72 sharp steel spikes on each of its sides. This is an anti-elephant defense system. In addition, the width and height of the door was designed so that an elephant harnessed to a howdah (palanquin) could pass through. The other gates are Mastani darwaza, also facing north, which was used for the queen's passage; Khidki darwaz, facing east; Ganesh darwaza facing southeast was used by women going to the Kasba Ganpati temple; Jambhul darwaza facing south was the gate for concubines.

The palace: seven stories high, only the first floor was made of stone. People from Satara, then capital of the Maratha Empire, reported to the king that only he could build stone constructions. An official letter to the ruler of Peshwa followed and Bajirao I had the teak building completed. The walls were painted with scenes from the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Between the servants, residents and guests, the palace could accommodate 1,000 people.

The palace contained an important treasure consisting of more than 50,000 diamonds and more than 50,000 other precious and semi-precious stones, gold coins, gold and silver tableware, a silver howdah, estimated to be worth more than 10 million rupees. The treasure was stolen by the British.

The fountain: In the garden, Bajirao I had a sophisticated fountain built in the shape of a 16-petal lotus flower.